Hinch Firsts suffer third defeat in a row getting off to a bumpy season
AIL Div 1,
Venue: Tom Clifford Park, Limerick, on Saturday 10th October 2026,
Final Score: Young Munster 32 14 Ballynahinch.
Ballynahinch travelled to Limerick searching for their first points of the season and despite a much-improved performance they fell to a third consecutive defeat writes James Kirk.
Injuries and unavailability saw them travel without stalwarts Bradley Luney, Chris Gibson, John Dickson and Mark Best as well as talented young back rowers Jon Rodgers, Ryan Connolly and Josh Hanlon.
Mike McKeever and his coaching team were given a lift with the return of Pierce Crowe allowing Matthew Booth to step back into midfield and Joe Charles returned to take a place on the bench.
An early Young Munster penalty was the sole score in a competitive opening half an hour as the Ballynahinch defence stepped up and the away side took the lead from a Claytan Milligan tap penalty under the posts after a period of pressure on the young Munster line.
However they were undone by a familiar failing as they conceded a try on the halftime whistle to fall behind at the break.
The Young Munster pack carried deep into the Ballynahinch 22 and sucked in the wide defence before spreading the ball wide for a fine score.
The home scrum began to dominate in the second half and Ballynahinch fell further behind after a disruptive scrum allowed the home side to score from short range on the blind side and then a quick tap penalty from a scrum infringement saw them stretch their lead.
To their credit Ballynahinch battled back and Number 8 Martin Maloney eventually forced his way over following a frenetic passage of play started by a good carry from Booth.
At 22-14 the game was still alive but another home try following a superb grubber kick into the corner secured the bonus point and as Ballynahinch chased a bonus point of their own in the final moments Young Munster intercepted a wide pass and scored a length of the field try to give the scoreboard a lop-sided look.
Coaches and players alike will welcome the rest week as they seek to reset following their difficult start to the season. A lot has been asked of some young and inexperienced players and Division 1A represents a very steep learning curve. A home fixture versus Lansdowne on the 24th October is the next challenge. All support welcome.
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Ballynahinch U18 45 Rainey U18 0
Colin Donaldson reports
Ballynahinch maintained their unblemished record in Division 2 with a fourth consecutive win over a Rainey side depleted by injury.
The first quarter was a stalemate as the home side struggled to put their patterns together but a strong maul saw Tiernan McCann open the scoring and some hard carrying by the bigger home forwards then set up the platform for prop Charlie Willis to blast over and give his side a twelve point cushion at the break.
The second half was one-way traffic. Winger Euan Cranston was the first to score following excellent handling from Sam Hoey and Jack Fallon. This was followed by a try from player of the match Callum McCargo after he was on the end of an excellent switch play and break from outhalf Joshua Woods.
The forwards continued to turn the screw and an opposition knock-on gave them an attacking scrum deep in Rainey territory. Scrum Half Ethan Donaldson made the most of the opportunity as he sold a dummy and scampered under the posts for an excellent try.
Two further tries added a little gloss to the scoreboard with McCargo finishing off one move and Fallon profiting from more good work from Hoey to score the seventh and final try. Woods continued his excellent form with the boot, converting five tries.
Tougher tests lie ahead for this highly promising young side but coaches Jonto Andrews, Paul Campbell, Colin Donaldson and Donald Blain can be highly satisfied with the first block of fixtures. Ballynahinch have a week off before a trip to Strabane as they aim to continue their unbeaten run.
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Ballynahinch RFC Round-up 10th October 2026
Club Notes
The 4th XV were the only senior side to win on Saturday as they kept the bandwagon rolling with a comprehensive 47-7 victory over Banbridge.
Home defeats for the 2nd XV in the Junior Cup to Portadown and the 3rd XV to Omagh in the League combined with the 1st XV suffering a third consecutive loss in the AIL in Limerick left both players and supporters counting the cost of an unprecedented injury list.
The U18 and U16 boys continue to set the pace in their respective leagues with fine victories over Rainey and Bangor respectively. The U14s fell to their first defeat versus Bangor and there were defeats for the U14 and U16 girls against Ballymoney.
For all results and fixtures check out our social media pages or go to hinchrfc.co.uk
Book your place at the next pre-match lunch on October 24th by contacting James Kirk on 07966143184.
Springbok World Cup winning lock Victor Matfield will be in town to speak at a business lunch on November 20th. Contact Chris Stevenson on 07872838411 for more details.
Youth Training continues on Mondays at 7pm for boys and Wednesdays at 7pm for girls. All players U12/U14/U16/U18 welcome and no experience necessary. Contact Johnny Cullen for details on 07595651901.
Mini rugby continues on Saturday mornings from 9.30-11am. Boys and girls from P1 – Yr8 are all welcome, with training run for each age group in their school year. Mini rugby news is posted weekly on the club Facebook page :
www.facebook.com/ballynahinchrfcofficial.
For more details contact Sarah Samuel – Mini Convenor on 07540993223 or email:
